A few years ago, I was trying to get my hands on any Doom based band I could. Kongh ended up being one of those bands, with their prior album Shadows Of The Shapeless. After moving on from my Doom phase, some bands stood out, and others didn't. Honestly, I don't even remember Shadows , but I was still excited to hear the new album Sole Creation, because there was a lot of hype surrounding the record. have to say, while good, this album comes off much like the prior album. It's good, and nothing is wrong with it per se, but ultimately, it ends up being forgettable.

From the start of the record, in the titular track Sole Creation, we get some guitar feedback, leading way to a crushing sludge. Guitars sound raw, and heavy, but to me a little thin as well. The drums are simplistic, but this is not a bad thing, as they help create a head banging groove on the records. The bass is very thick and helps add some thing where the guitars miss. The vocals alternate between a growl/howl, and some more melodic clean vocals. Personally, I enjoy the clean vocals quite a bit more than the harsh vocals, especially in the chorus. Near the 5 and a half minute mark on the record, the sound slows from the crushing heaviness, to a slower, more melodic passage. The lead guitars work well in the song, and album as a whole, but again feel thin, or just not interesting enough. They are trying to add atmosphere to the song, but I feel as if it fails at doing so. The track picks back up around the 6 minute mark to another groovy, heavy passage with harsh vocals. Sadly my interest in the album and song have not changed as of yet. Nothing is bad by any means though. Everything is well played, and the production sound clear and very good. However, nothing stands out and really grabs my attention, save for the clean vocals in the chorus.

The second track, Tamed Brute, starts of again with a heavy sound and groovy drums. One thing I can say about the record is that it certainly has a nice groove to it. It will make the listener move their heads from time to time. A little after the one minute mark, we get a slower passage, that you can tell is building to a climax of some sort. When we reach it near the two minute mark, it feels anticlimactic. There was no grand explosion of sound, just everything sounding a little heavier. Quite a missed mark in my mind. The clean vocals come in, and once again, become the most interesting thing on the record. They remind me of Mike from YOB, and while that is a compliment, as I love his voice, it doesn't help this album and band have their own identity. It just makes me want to listen to Atma, or The Unreal Never Lived again. We do get some slower passages in this track, again with the guitars looking to add atmosphere. The guitars around the 6 minute mark remind me of the prior track, Sole Creation, even though the rest of the underlying music does not. At the 9 and a half minute mark we get some melodic guitars giving way to feedback and another sludgy, heavy riff. My interest in the album still has not changed, and at halfway through the record, it doesn't look good. The track continues until a fade out 2 minutes later, and the track ends as it began, with disappointment.

We get passed the half way point, and start track three, The Portals, and I'm hoping to get something more interesting here. After an intro lasting a little over two minutes we get a pretty nice riff. It's groovy and sticks out a bit from the rest of the record. We again get YOB like clean vocals interlaced with the growls. One thing I wil say about the vocals on the record, no matter what or whom they may sound like, they are very well done. You can feel emotion in them, and I can see a lot of effort was put into the juxtaposition of the clean and harsh vocals to accentuate mood and feeling. The track continues with the same sound until about the 5 and a half minute mark, where things do get a little heavier with a very intense double bass drumming section beneath harsh vocals. The guitars do add a little bit here, and this section has become my favorite part of the record. Shortly after the 7 minute mark, the section ends and we get back to the "regular" sound of the track. Luckily, the last minute changes things up a bit, and the sound does shift. Between the fast passage and the last minute of the song, which features a very well done solo, this has become my favorite track on the record, and easily the stand out moment on Sole Creation.

With that, we get to the final track on the album, Skymning. This is the longest track on the album ( reaching at 13 and a half minutes) and is also the slowest. The slow drumming and melodic guitars actually do add some atmosphere to this track, with the bass underneath adding that extra thickness. The clean vocals are mournful, and makes me feel that there's more to them than the prior songs had me think. Of note, the word "Skymning" for those who may not know, is Swedish for "dusk", and I do feel the title is very appropriate for the track. After the onslaught the prior tracks brought, the slowness of this track does make me feel like the sun is setting, and things are starting to get darker. There is not much movement in the track, and for being as long as it is, a little more variation would be nice. Obviously with Doom and Sludge bands, repetition is/can be a big part of the sound, this track does make me actually miss the musical shifts in the prior songs. Luckily, at about the 10 minute mark, the music does change a bit. We get the same melodious lead guitar but the drums and rhythm guitar has quicker pace, and a heavier riff. This does end eventually, and we start to get into the "wind down" portion of the track. We get the fade out for the last 15 seconds or so and the album ends.

One thing worth pointing out, is that the band was only a two piece for this record. I find that to be impressive, as the album does have a sound of a "full band." All in all, the record has some good qualities that do save it, but if sadly a forgettable record. Even the stand out track The Portals, seems to vanish from my memory as soon as I am done listening. Nothing sticks with me and makes me want to listen again. Furthermore, the album seems very predictable. You can usually tell where the song is going before it gets there. With four tracks coming out to about 45 minutes, the album is a little much to sit through. Longer albums have never been a problem for me, with bands such as YOB, or Morne putting out longer albums and songs, but those bands, even in their repetition, have a lot more interesting qualities to their music. I'm sure there may be people out there that enjoy this album more than I do, but I really cannot help but want to listen to other bands while this record is playing. Nothing bad nothing really great either, it's an album that exists, and that's about it.

If you are interested to se how you feel about this album, feel free to check out the track, The Portals here